Lamina VII neurons are rhythmically active during locomotor-like activity in the neonatal rat spinal cord

Abstract

The midsagittally-sectioned lumbar spinal cord with thoracic segments intact retains the capacity for locomotor-like activity. Intracellular recordings were used to characterize the activity and concurrently label lumbar neurons in lamina VII, an area previously implicated in the generation of locomotion. Sharp electrodes were shown to preferentially impale larger neurons. These neurons undergo rhythmic voltage oscillations, presumably synaptically driven, during locomotor-like activity induced by bath application of N-methyl-D-aspartate and 5-hydroxytryptamine. This supports the hypothesis that synaptic activity recruits neurons in lamina VII that are associated with locomotor behavior.